Doughnut Economics
The must-read book that redefines economics for a world in crisis
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4.1 • 43 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Discover the bestselling book that reveals how mainstream economics has led us astray - and what we can do to fix it, now with a new afterword.
*The Sunday Times Bestseller*
*A Financial Times and Forbes Book of the Year*
*Longlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award*
Relentless financial crises. Extreme inequalities in wealth. Remorseless pressure on the environment. Anyone can see that our economic system is broken.
But can it be fixed?
Oxford academic Kate Raworth has identified seven critical ways in which mainstream economics has led us astray - from selling us the myth of 'rational economic man' to obsessing over growth at all costs - and offers an alternative roadmap for bringing humanity into a sweet spot that meets the needs of all, within the means of the planet.
Ambitious, radical and provocative, Doughnut Economics offers a new cutting-edge economic model fit for the challenges of the 21st century.
Praise for Doughnut Economics:
'Raworth's magnum opus . . . Fascinating.' Books of the Year, Forbes
'At last – an economic model that won't destroy the planet . . . the John Maynard Keynes of the 21st century.' Guardian
'This is sharp, significant scholarship . . . Thrilling.' Times Higher Education
'A book you will need to know about . . . If only 10% of the ideas get implemented, the world will be a much better place.' Dr Duncan Green, Professor in Practice in International Development at LSE
'[Raworth's] biggest question . . . is one that terrifies all mainstream economists: is 'growth' endless?' Andrew Marr, Spectator
'A compelling and timely intervention.' The Ecologist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This sharp, insightful call for a shift in thinking from economist Raworth posits that a long-overdue intellectual revolution has finally begun. According to her, the established model of economic thought no longer satisfies economics students, who are calling out for change; the education they're receiving is out of pace with current economic realities. To formulate a better model, Raworth reversed the way she'd previously looked at economics. Rather than relying on established truisms, she laid out long-term goals for humankind and worked to figure out how economic thinking would allow us to achieve them. The result is a diagram consisting of a series of rings around a hollow center the titular doughnut. Raworth places a "safe and just space for humanity" in a ring between a social foundation and an ecological ceiling, leaving human deprivation and planetary degradation, respectively, in the doughnut "hole" and outside the doughnut. The plan to move forward consists of seven ideas, such as shifting the goal of economists from addressing financial to humanitarian concerns, recognizing ecology as a significant factor in economic growth, responsibly redistributing wealth, and so on. This is a highly optimistic look at the global economy, and Raworth's energetic, layperson-friendly writing makes her concept accessible as well as intriguing.
Customer Reviews
The economic book we should all be reading
Climate change, extreme poverty, polarisation of conditions (wealth gap) are only a few of the effects that are worsening if we don't start adopting a different paradigm to thrive (instead of the bare GDP). A book that we all should read, that explain clearly legacy issues and solutions. No need to be an economist to understand the concepts, you just need to be human!